Month: February 2019

You’ve heard the chatter before, New York City has some of the best drinking water in the country. Bottled water is unnecessary here, some say.

New York City’s drinking water is world renowned for its purity and taste. It routinely wins taste tests and won first prize at the 2008 New York State Fair, beating out 150 other communities.

Some Cool Facts on New York’s Drinking Water

Whether you agree that the tap water tastes great, there are still some basic facts, gleaned on water supply and quality, to know about water in NYC.

Fact #1

The New York City Water Supply System delivers about 1 billion gallons of drinking water to the city of New York every day.

Fact #2

NYC’s water contains tiny shrimp called copepods. These microscopic crustaceans are not actually harmful at all, and are instead used to clear the water of mosquito larvae. According to data from 2009, NYC’s water is outranked by Boston and other cities. The NYC’s water is still safe to be sure, but its reputation as the best tap water in the world might be exaggerating the truth just a bit.

Fact #3

New York City’s water supplies are virtually lead-free. There is the possibility that lead can leach into water from old plumbing. However, sampling indicates that the vast majority of NYC taps produce water containing only minute, insignificant quantities of lead.

Fact #4

New York consumes almost 1 billion gallons of water per day. New York State loses 45 billion gallons of water per day to evaporation.

Fact #5

DEP also treats the water with food grade phosphoric acid and sodium hydroxide. It also has been treating its water with flouride since 1966, for “consumer dental health protection.” On Feb. 14, 2012, after receiving authorization from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, DEP reduced the target dosage.

Fact #6

New York isn’t unique in this respect, the city’s pure headwater has enabled it to avoid extensive chemical processing and filtration, likely contributing to its fresh taste.

Fact #7

The NYC system provides approximately one billion gallons of water to its 8.5 million residents each day. And for residents of NYC, The Department of Environmental Protection conducts over 500,000 quality tests on New York City tap water each year.

Fact #8

According to NYC’s pizza parlors, local tap water is key to what makes their crust’s flavor different from any other in the world. Now you know, why your homemade, takeout, or store bought pie’s crust is nothing like the foldable slice you had in a NYC.

Fact #9

In the City, almost 1,000 water sampling stations are used to monitor the water daily, and about 600,000 microbial or chemical tests are conducted each year to ensure that residents can enjoy what NYC says is among “the best drinking water in the nation.” ~ Study says.

Fact #10

While most of the water used by the trusted brands like Whirlpool, Samsung, LG, Bosch, GE and Maytag comes through either rain or snow. The city also relies a lot on the process called precipitation which makes the tap water totally irreplaceable in quality.